News

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) - "The early bird get the worm and I wanted to be first."

And he was. Bo Blair began camping out at the Reeves Municipal Center on 14th and U Monday at 8 p.m. to get in Thursday morning.

Why? Well, you see, scoring a liquor license in Georgetown is kind of like winning the lottery with slightly better odds. It took decades and now only four licenses are available: three for a restaurant and one for a bar or tavern. All are issued on a first come, first served basis.

Blair owns the exclusive bar and lounge Smith Point in Georgetown. He's hoping after 14 years he can finally get a tavern license.

"A tavern license basically allows you to sell liquor without selling food and it increases the value of your license quite a bit," he explained.

As the world embraces the age of technology, everything is available online----including the sale of pets. Guardians of Rescue, a nationwide animal rescue organization, has stepped up to protect these poor animals from the cruelty of being bought and sold via the Internet. Guardians of Rescue is working with law enforcement in various states to try to reduce the amount of harm inflicted on these innocent dogs.

“Getting a new pet is always a big decision, and buying a dog you haven’t met in person is not smart,” says Dori Scofield, vice-president of Guardians of Rescue, an organization whose mission is to protect the well-being of all animals. “If you buy a dog through the Internet, you risk supporting puppy mill cruelty and being scammed out of your money. The Internet is also used by criminals to buy and sell fighting dogs, using certain understood language.”

If you looking to adopt a new dog, here are five tips to think about before you decide where to buy:

In support of Autism Awareness Month, Metropolitan School of the Arts is asking all of its studio students to ‘go blue’ now through April 30. Students who wear blue during class, Monday through Friday in April, Metropolitan School of the Arts will donate $1 for each student that wears blue, per day. Go to www.metropolitanarts.org for a full schedule of classes and registration.

Metropolitan School of the Arts offers pre-professional dance, theatre, musical and vocal studio classes for youth and teens, as well as adult dance and fitness classes, including Metro Barre, yoga and Pilates.

This elegant classic colonial on the market offers exquisite detailing, the latest modern amenities, and the opportunity to take in the spring season with its outdoor patio and kitchen

The Neighborhood

Walking down mature tree-lined sidewalks to the neighborhood parks, playgrounds and nearby shopping contributes to the small-town feel of Lyon Village, one of Arlington’s most sought after residential communities. Frank Lyon purchased this land, formerly Robert Cruit’s 19th century weekend and holiday estate and dairy farm, and established Lyon Village, a true community that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1923. Colonial, Tudor and Classical Revival styles are among the distinctive homes within the neighborhood, which embraces the custom brick home at 1839 N. Herndon Street as one of its own.

WASHINGTON (WUSA9 ) -- The FBI is investigating another white powder call at Georgetown University, according to a DC Fire/EMS spokesperson.* Law enforcement has secured the area in the 3700 block of O St. NW (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning, Georgetown University alerted DC Fire & EMS of possible ricin in one of the residence halls on campus, according to a police spokesperson.

Initial field tests for biological agents in the area were negative and DC Fire EMS advised there was no immediate risk to the area, says the spokesperson.

Police say students were told they could remain in all campus buildings.

Law enforcement authorities have recovered a substance from reported location, according to police, and will be conducting further testing of that material.

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA9) -- DC is dumping $2.6 billion into a hole in the ground.

Literally.

Right now, a $30 million steel and concrete caterpillar is gnawing at the earth six days a week, 24 hours a day about 120 feet down. It's DC's biggest construction project since Metro and you probably never noticed.

The Lady Bird tunnel boring machine is building the first of more than 13 miles of tunnels, so the city can end the century-old practice of dumping raw sewage into our rivers during many rainstorms.

Lady Bird is about a quarter mile in from a ten story shaft at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant and she's headed toward Nationals Park. Crews are about 70 feet below the Potomac off the Navy Research Lab.

Lady Bird stretches out about a football field and a half. She's like a giant assembly line chomping into the earth six feet at a time.